AMERICAN FORK, Utah—The large, dramatic letters emblazoned across the top of the imposing new office building here used to read “Platinum.” Now they say “AMP”—because financially beleaguered Platinum Protection has vacated the space and it is now AMP’s headquarters.

We at Security Systems News were very saddened to learn about the sudden passing of David Merrick, marketing director for Pittsburgh-based Vector Security. A veteran of the industry, he was a member of our Editorial Advisory Board, a great source of knowledge, and also just an all-around nice guy. He’ll be missed.

David, 60, a Pennsylvania resident, died July 31 at a local hospital. Here’s more about his career of more than three decades, provided by Vector Security:

David began his career in the electronic security industry during 1979. Since that time he has held various sales and marketing management positions, first with Automatic Detection Systems and then Triple A Protection, a Pennsylvania-based regional supplier of residential and commercial electronic security and uniformed guard services.

In 1999, David became part of Vector Security, holding the position of Director of Marketing for Vector Security's National Accounts Division.

Active in the security industry, David served as a board member of the Pennsylvania Burglar & Fire Alarm Association, and was the recipient of the NBFAA 2002 President’s Award. He authored a variety of sales and marketing-related articles in a number of industry magazines, and was an editorial board member of Security Systems News.

David’s work has been featured in various industry magazine articles, merited three SAMMY nominations, and captured the honor twice. He was also the author of the National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association’s (NBFAA) Reassuring America Program.

An obituary from the Sheldon-Kukuchka Funeral Home said David is survived by his wife Nina Mowry Merrick; a stepson and stepdaughter; a brother; a granddaughter and a goddaughter.

For central stations wondering if they’ll ever be part of ASAP to PSAP, there was good news from ESX 2012: Progress continues to be made.

Show attendees got an update on the protocol at a seminar led by Mark McCall of United Central Control, Glenn Schroeder of the Security Network of America, Pam Petrow and Anita Ostrowski of Vector Security, and Melissa Courville of DICE Corp.

While ASAP might not be advancing fast enough to satisfy everyone in the industry, the panelists in Nashville listed a number of bullet points that detailed the gains. Among them:

—A CSAA-owned message broker is up and running at the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (Nlets) facility in Arizona. The server acts as a scrubber for transmissions being forwarded from monitoring companies to public safety answering points.

—A trademark process has been completed to certify the ASAP name and logo.

—ANSI version 3.3 of the protocol is currently live in Richmond, Va., and it is scheduled to go online in other pilot project locations by the end of the year.

—ASAP leaders have expanded their outreach to the PSAP community in 2012, with presentations to groups including the Texas Police Chiefs Association and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

The three municipalities involved in the pilot project—Richmond, Va., York County, Va., and Houston—are scheduled to be joined soon by Tempe, Ariz., and James City County, Va. On the monitoring side, Alarm Detection Systems and ADT are in line to join pilot participants Vector Security, UCC and Monitronics.

McCall, director of information technology and facility security officer at UCC, told the seminar audience that central stations planning to become part of ASAP may find that the requirements “are a little bit more than what your operation is used to now.”

“Remember what we’re connecting to,” he said, referring to Nlets. “We’re connecting to the same network that every police department, every fire department and every emergency agency is connected to. Nlets is responsible for the integrity of that network, and for us as an industry to play in their sandbox, we have to meet their security requirements.”

On the plus side, most of those concerns were alleviated with the deployment of the message broker, McCall said. Other ASAP issues involving the preparation of automation vendors and CAD providers are being addressed, and the CSAA is creating a new website—www.asaptopsap.org—to keep interested parties informed.

“The materials are continually being added to and the CSAA will let everyone know when [the information] is ready for public consumption, as it will be sending out ASAP-dedicated email blasts to confirmed charter members at that time,” said Courville, co-chairwoman of the ASAP to PSAP Outreach Committee.

Off and running shortly in Nashville for ESX, which promises to be the biggest and most informative edition in the event's five-year history. The show returns to its roots this year after stops in Pittsburgh and Charlotte, and people are already talking about the ESX Crawl. There will be a lot of business before the pleasure, though, and here are a few highlights:

—The ESA Eye-Opener Breakfast on Tuesday will shine the spotlight on Security System News' "20 under 40" Class of 2012, young professionals who are already making their mark on the industry and likely will continue to do so for many years to come. They'll share stories of how they've gotten to this point in their careers and talk about the people who have helped them get there.

—Later in the day, show attendees who want a backstage look at a CSAA Five Diamond central station will get their chance when ADS Security opens its doors for a tour of its monitoring facility in Nashville. The session is sponsored by Honeywell Security Group.

—Who will head home with the CSAA's Excellence Awards for 2012? Find out at the group's annual breakfast Wednesday morning, with awards for Central Station of the Year, Manager of the Year, Operator of the Year, and Support Person of the Year.

—Learn the latest on the evolution of ASAP to PSAP at a Wednesday morning session featuring Ed Bonifas of the CSAA and Alarm Detection Systems. Vector Security, UCC and Monitronics have taken the reins during the pilot phase of the program, but the CSAA had 75 other companies waiting to adopt ASAP at the beginning of 2012. It's an exciting time for exciting technology that is advancing every day.

That's just a taste of what ESX is serving up this year. There is a long list of seminars at www.esxweb.com, and there will be four days of networking on the show floor. And the Crawl, of course. I'll be doing my best to make the most of it. See you there ...

PITTSBURGH—Vector Security has acquired American Alert Corp. based in Geneva, Ohio. The acquisition adds 5,000 customers and will help Vector expand into the Cleveland market, according to Art Miller, VP of marketing for Vector, which is based here.

Content: PITTSBURGH—Vector Security has acquired American Alert Corp., based in Geneva, Ohio, Vector announced this week. The acquisition adds 5,000 customers and makes Vector a stronger player in the Ohio market, the company said.

The CSAA has taken the next step toward bringing more participants into the fold with the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol by going "live" with a computerized message broker in Arizona.

The server at the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (Nlets) in Phoenix serves as a scrubber for transmissions being forwarded from monitoring companies to public safety answering points. It checks for errors and ensures that the information is properly formatted before sending it to the appropriate state control point and PSAP.

The Central Station Alarm Association reported that Vector Security and the 911 center for the city of Richmond, Va., switched to the message broker in mid-April. The move was seamless for the end users at Vector and at Richmond's PSAP, according to Bill Hobgood, project manager for the city's Public Safety Team.

Anita Ostrowski, Vector's VP for central stations, told the CSAA that operators at Vector required only very brief, informal training before the move was made to the server at Nlets.

Vector, UCC and Monitronics are the three alarm companies currently participating in ASAP, which speeds alarm notifications by providing information to 911 centers via computer instead of a phone call. Three municipalities are involved in the pilot program: Richmond, Houston, and York County, Va.

Ed Bonifas, vice president of Alarm Detection Systems and co-chairman of the CSAA's ASAP Steering Committee, told an audience at ISC West that Tempe, Ariz., was the next city signed up for the protocol. And there is plenty of industry interest: The CSAA had 75 companies waiting to adopt ASAP at the beginning of 2012.

With the message broker fully operational, one more hurdle has been cleared.

"This sets the stage for the future participation of additional alarm monitoring companies," Bonifas said. "Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available."

VIENNA, Va.—Thinking about getting on board with the CSAA to take advantage of the new Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) program? To be among the stations at the front of the line, you’d better act soon–a Jan. 31 deadline will separate the haves from the have-nots.